Google Finance, Govt, Policy and Business Issues Forum

Google, Goldman Sachs and Hearst are investing $100 million in the start-up, Current Communications Group. CCG presently offers "high-speed Interent over electricity lines" in the Cincinnati, Ohio area

Here in Holland, tests were run to see if this would be a good alternative for broadband through cable or telephone line. Results were negative and showed it was expensive and would never be able to compete with traditional lines for broadband.

If I were to guess, perhaps it has to do with eventually streaming lots of video content. Google may well want to get into the broadband market but without having to invest billions in existing companies. This could be seen as a comparitively low cost entry to this market that could reap huge benefits.

I wouldn't be surprised if Google also tackles online file sharing head on at some point. Perhaps people could choose different payment plans for broadband in the future. Tracks/videos which would have ids associated with them and could be downloaded legally by folk. At the end of the month the cost charged to your broadband account could be divided up and given to the artists / film companies. Google (or whoever) could take a cut or using advertising.

I'm in the energy industry and was actually part of a team that evaluated PLC technology.

Seems like it has niche application - especially from a system reliability standpoint. I'm concerned over the ability to compete with things like fiber. Cable and the Bells (Verizon) are making a play for bandwidth. From what I've seen, PCL might never get there. Throw in WiMax and the scenario is even dimmer.

Current has a large contract (partner) with Cinergy. As I remember it, they were way behind their planned deployment and still hadn't invented an underground (burried electrical cables) solution.

Grobe is right but it's not just Amateur Radio operators that get interference from BPL, emergency services, police, military and commercial airflight all get radio interference from BPL. Even if it was just Amateur Radio its still bad because not only is it a hobby enjoyed by millions but its also a vital part of our emergency communications as they provide backup communications in emergency situations. You can bet they sprung into action yesterday to help when the cellphones and telephone systems went down in London. They were there during the tsunamis [voanews.com], they were there during the hurricanes [eham.net]. But with BPL will Amateur Radio still be able to help?

I'm hoping that Google is investing because they believe that BPL can be done WITHOUT interference somehow. Either that or this is just the first sign that they are slipping from their "do no evil" mantra.

GoogleGuy where are you sir? Would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Does anyone else think that Google is spreading itself too thin? R&D has always been a big part in Google business, but there comes a point when you have to focus on core competencies. As a google investor I am not happy with them throwing money around like a VC.

As a ham radio operator, I know there are a lot of interference issues yet to be resolved. BPL has been shot down at sites all over the US (one right here in the Raleigh, NC area) due to interference issues that couldn't be resolved/notched. I think it's a technology that isn't quite ready to be released... With a bit more work, it could probably be worksable in most locations... Much reading available on this topic at www.arrl.org

>> As a google investor I am not happy with them throwing money around like a VC.

you are wrong. They have plenty of cash, and whatever they invested (less than $50 mil I bet) is NOTHING. You should be upset if Google did nothing and just counted on ad revenue. AOL made a billion or so off Google's IPO, if I remember correctly.

I know GOog is a corporation, but they seem so friendly, so willing to help out the common man. Look at the indexing of libraries, that will bring a lot of books to many far away places where local libraries are horrid... so what do I think google is doing with this powerline thing, I think they can fix it. Remember, google is run on cheap skate linux machines, and that the real ingenuity of google is that it created software to work with hardware that isn't perfect. So, I for one think, Google will create sophisticated software that makes broadband communication on power lines efficient. Then Google will have made a new use of an existing network. It's really smart. I like it.

hahahaha. I hate to break the news but they're not that altruistic, and rightfully so. They will make a killing with the book scanning. They are a publicly traded company, and owe it to the shareholders to try and make as much $$$ as possible...without compromisig their long term goals of course.

For Larry it's choice, but for me it's not and I can't even get 56K (our phone system is on a pair gain which tops out at 26K). I live pretty far out in the country (nearest traffic light is 37 miles away) and in a tight valley with a lot of big timber. The folks who've tried satellite have had mixed experience trying to shoot the southern sky through the trees. Usually goes out in winter storms and is finicky in general.

We had 256KB for $162/mo, but then that company went out of business recently.

I've been watching this broadband over power lines for a long time (my cousin was in one of the first startups to get working on it) and am also watching Wi-Max with interest. I just wish that one of them would get out here ASAP. I have 15 people in my neighborhood I could sign up tomorrow if we could get DSL at the price it costs in the city, but it's probably never going to happen here.

So until they get those dirigibles [extremetech.com] up there, I'm still waiting... literally!

The problem is we will always be last because there's just not enough money to made off us - the neighborhood has existed since the late 1960s, but we didn't get phone service until 1992. Still no cell, broadband or cable here.